City of Nightmares by Rebecca Schaeffer || Time To Face Your Fears

City of Nightmares (City of Nightmares, #1)

Gotham meets Strange the Dreamer in this thrilling young adult fantasy about a cowardly girl who finds herself at the center of a criminal syndicate conspiracy, in a city where crooked politicians and sinister cults reign and dreaming means waking up as your worst nightmare.

Ever since her sister became a man-eating spider and slaughtered her way through town, nineteen-year-old Ness has been terrified—terrified of some other Nightmare murdering her, and terrified of ending up like her sister. Because in Newham, the city that never sleeps, dreaming means waking up as your worst fear.

Whether that means becoming a Nightmare that’s monstrous only in appearance, to transforming into a twisted, unrecognizable creature that terrorizes the city, no one is safe. Ness will do anything to avoid becoming another victim, even if that means lying low among the Friends of the Restful Soul, a questionable organization that may or may not be a cult.

But being a member of maybe-cult has a price. In order to prove herself, Ness cons her way into what’s supposed to be a simple job for the organization—only for it to blow up in her face. Literally. Tangled up in the aftermath of an explosive assassination, now Ness and the only other survivor—a Nightmare boy who Ness suspects is planning to eat her—must find their way back to Newham and uncover the sinister truth behind the attack, even as the horrors of her past loom ominously near.

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Perfect for readers who want:

• Dark, dystopian worlds filled with villains.
• Characters who survive such worlds anyway, despite all logic that should say otherwise.
• Paranormal elements including vampires, werewolves, and other nightmares.
• A twisty, intriguing plot that’s mysterious and gripping.
• Character suffering from PTSD.
• Close leading trio with plenty of banter.

Many thanks to Clarion Books for an eARC in exchange for an honest, unbiased review. Quotes taken from an unfinished product and may differ from the final version.

If that title doesn’t immediately grab your attention, this may not be the book for you. As soon as I read the title, I knew I had to read the book. I mean, to be fair, a city of nightmares sounds like the perfect locale for me. (Be forewarned: I am definitely taking it over, so best get in my good graces now!) Then, when I read the description and realized it was literally a city of nightmares, that people changed as they slept, that sealed the deal. It’s just the sort of deliciously dark book I’ve been craving lately.

City of Nightmares is a foray into a dark, dystopian world filled of nightmares . . . literally. Yet, in a world where everything seems out to get you, the truth may just be the scariest thing of all.

I absolutely could not put this book down once I started it. Read it in a day, in fact. The beginning starts with a bang, and it’s clear, right from the very start, what sort of world this is. The sort that most people wouldn’t want to touch with a 10-foot pole. Granted, I’m not most people and I would absolutely love to visit this place. Well . . . love may be a strong word. But still. I cannot wait for the next book in the duology, especially after the way this ended! Not a cliffhanger by any means, but definitely in a way that made me not ready to leave the world yet.

This world is dark and not for the feint of heart. Be forewarned. You’ll find no heroes here.

To be fair, if there ever had ever been heroes living in Newham, I’m sure the city has long since stomped them out by now. It is a city by nightmares and for nightmares . . . and sometimes monsters look oddly human. I mean, they can’t all be man-eating dinosaurs, after all.

Newham is the sort of dark, dystopian city where crime, corruption, and death is just a natural part of daily life and to be expected. No one bats their eyes. Why would they? The people in this city have become acclimatized to the horror of life in Newham. Luckily for us readers, we have not. Probably. I mean, I suppose I can’t speak for everyone. That means there’s almost a small thrill in discovering just how deep the level of depravity can get amongst the population of Newham. No? Just me? When you think you’ve seen your worst, think again. There’s always a new nightmare lurking around the corner.

Enter our main character, Ness, who is suffering from understandable chronic PTSD after witnessing her sister transform into a Nightmare and devour their father.

Pretty sure that’s enough to scar anyone for life (as if living in a city of nightmares wasn’t enough on its own). Though not all nightmares are terrifying murder machines (some are just out there trying to live their best lives), Ness’ PTSD doesn’t discriminate. Proximity to any nightmare sends her spiraling into a panic attack. Not the easiest thing to handle in a city like Newham, as one might imagine.

My favorite thing about Ness’s character is that her fears and reactions seem so ridiculous to the other residents of Newham, but they’re perfectly reasonable to the innocent reader that stumbles into her story. It makes for a really interesting juxtaposition, one that challenges Ness’s assumptions as well as the reader’s. Ness’s whole character journey is about overcoming her fear, but that’s a lot easier said than done in a city of nightmares. Just saying.

A setting as ridiculous and unexpected as Newham is absolutely perfect for a plot as complicated, twisty, and unexpected as this one, which had me rapidly turning pages wanting to find out what was going to happen next!

One of the most brilliant things that Schaeffer is able to capitalize on in this book is the absurdity of a city where people could literally become their worst nightmares anytime they dreamed. The setting partners perfectly with the tongue-in-cheek wit and dark humor exhibited by the characters and narrative. Because make no mistake, these characters are mouthy and sarcastic. Would you really expect anything less in a city like Newham?

The banter between these characters absolutely cracks me up, and the writing voice is engaging and relatable. It made it really easy to get into the story and live there.

Even though, from what I’ve talked about, City of Nightmares sounds really dark (and in a lot of ways it is), there are a lot of lighter undercurrents and very uplifting themes.

I know it sounds a little unintuitive, especially given the setting and description, but that’s part of what makes the story so great! Ness’s journey, for example. Her fear is totally justified, and I think you’d be hard pressed to find someone in real life who would consider it unreasonable. But Ness isn’t alone in this world, and her friends are trying to teach her that she doesn’t need to be afraid all the time and that she is strong enough to face her fears, which is a lovely message.

There’s also a fantastic theme of what exactly makes something a monster. Sometimes humans can be monsters. Sometimes monsters can be all too human. Schaeffer leverages the dark setting to tackle these big philosophical questions and make the reader question all the assumptions they begin the story with, which I loved!

About Rebecca Schaeffer

Rebecca Schaeffer is the critically acclaimed author of Not Even Bones, Only Ashes Remain, and When Villains Rise. The Webtoon adaptation of the trilogy has garnered over a hundred million reads and nearly 2 million subscribers. Her next book, City of Nightmares, comes out in January 2023.

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